Tag: Antonio Silva

Elite XC officially announced its July 26 event in a press release sent out to the media today, noting that the card will feature three title fights: Robbie Lawler-Scott Smith for the middleweight title, Jake Shields-Nick Thompson for the vacant welterweight title, and Antonio Silva-TBA for the newly created Elite XC heavyweight title. Because nothing says ‘this belt isn’t very important‘ like announcing a title fight with only one participant a month out from the fight.

The Silva bout, along with two others, will air live on Showtime. The other two title fights will air live on CBS alongside two other bouts.

As you may have guessed, the Nick Diaz-Thomas Denny bout is one that Elite XC is relying on to drive ticket sales, and it is expected to be one of the four bouts featured live on CBS. We had originally hoped that Diaz would face Elite XC 160-pound champ KJ Noons on the card, but after Noons’ father’s negative remarks about the Diaz brothers and the city of Stockton, it’s may be best for that not to happen.

There’s also word that CBS is using its increased financial stake in the company to try and influence matchmaking. CBS apparently felt there weren’t enough stars on this card and MMA Payout claims it has sources attesting to “significant internal pressure” to put a big name like Gina Carano on this event in order to generate more fan interest.

The company’s plan is to stage an event that would start at either 7:30 or 8 p.m. (ET) on Showtime — with either a 60- or 90-minute show that would feature three or four fights — leading into the 9-11 p.m. CBS show. The venue has not been finalized, although the Savvis Center in St. Louis is under consideration.

Particularly astute CagePotato readers might think “Jake Shields vs. TBA? Hasn’t he been trying to fight Drew Fickett for like a year?” And you’d be right. Except Fickett might be getting bounced from EliteXC for being an absolute moron.

Four wild knockouts to one dull decision — not a bad ratio for Saturday’s EliteXC card. About 80 of you threw inpredictions for how the “Street Certified” main event would turn out, and we’re pleased to announce a winner. On 2/15, at 2:37 pm, commenter “charles” said:

kimbo TKO in 42 sec

Sure, it was actually a KO, but the fight was called at 43 seconds, and that’s pretty damn close. So Charles, if you’re reading this, e-mail feedback@cagepotato.com with your address and we’ll send you a copy of Iceman: My Fighting Life, signed by Chuck Liddell himself. We’d also like to give special recognition to commenter “skeet,” who said “kimbo :37 tko kimbo will have him on the ground face down.” Psychic much?!?

Next order of business: Can we all agree that it’s time for Kimbo to face someone as good as he is? Not an old boxer, not a food-poisoned pussy, not a one-dimensional brawler 12 years past his prime, but a legitimate heavyweight with some talent? If there’s one thing that EliteXC proved on Saturday, it’s that its heavyweight division is at least as deep as the UFC’s — I know, not saying much — especially when you factor in Pro Elite sub-promotions like Cage Rage. I’m willing to accept that Antonio Silva had an off night (due to a possible pre-fight injury) and that he’s still a couple steps ahead of Kimbo as far as ability, but I would love to see how Kimbo would do against Ricco “Bacon Double-Cheeseburger” Rodriguez. Undefeated Brett Rogers, who knocked out James Thompson on Saturday, seems like he’d be the perfect guy for Kimbo to face if he wants to demand a little more respect. And at the end of the “Street Certified” broadcast, Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros suggested that Kimbo could take on the winner of the Ken Shamrock/Robert “Buzz” Berry match at Cage Rage next month. Berry would be a great option — especially since he’s already called out Kimbo — but putting Kimbo against Shamrock’s legendary submission expertise (and willingness to take a beating) in just his fourth MMA bout might be asking too much.

Here’s what I’m afraid EliteXC might actually do: 1) Put Kimbo up against James Thompson so their franchise star can rack up at least one more guaranteed knockout before they start challenging him, or 2) Track down Sean Gannon so they can settle their grudge. As much as Kimbo might want to avenge his only loss as an “amateur,” the match-up just wouldn’t be competitive anymore, and wouldn’t do anything to prove that Kimbo should be taken seriously now.

One more thing: We went a perfect five-for-five in predicting the winners of “Street Certified”‘s main card, and called three of them perfectly (winner/round/method). Damn it feels good to be right once in a while…

What it do, nephews? Kimbo, Tank, Ricco, Bigfoot, and the rest of the gang are about to do battle at Miami’s Bank United Center. Watch the action on Showtime starting at 10 p.m. if you can, and/or follow our round-by-round results and commentary after the jump. Click the “more” link and refresh the page every few minutes, and let’s have some good clean fights out there. WAR FERGUSON!

Tank vs. Kimbo (heavyweights): We all know how this is going to end. A month ago, we offered a “fantastic” prize to the CagePotato reader who could call the result the closest. Well, the prediction lines will be open until the end of the day, so throw a guess on the comments section of that page for your chance to win (what else) a signed copy of Iceman: My Fighting Life by Chuck Liddell. We’re sticking with our prediction of Kimbo winning by TKO (punches) in 59 seconds. MMABettingBlog says that since the betting odds on this match are so heavily stacked in Kimbo’s favor — he’s a -450 favorite, meaning you’d have to bet $450 on him to get $100 back if he wins — Tank is actually the smart money bet. Especially if you think losing money is smart.

Antonio Silva vs. Ricco Rodriguez (heavyweights): Speaking of sports betting, this fight reminds me of my personal rule — never bet against the streak. And as we discussed yesterday, Bigfoot Silva’s got a crazy one going: 10 fights, all of them lasting less than four minutes. Outside of the Ben Rothwell spit-debacle decision loss, Ricco “Suave” has been looking great lately, with six stoppage wins in his last seven fights. We just don’t think he’ll be able to deal with Silva’s size and power — Bigfoot by first-round GnP TKO. By the way, Rodriguez said this at yesterday’s press conference: “Win or lose, six months from now Antonio and I will be fighting again, probably for a title. We are the two best fighters in this organization right now. Tank and Kimbo are just tomato cans. We are the two real fighters.” We have a feeling Ricco might live to regret that quote…

In his 10 professional matches, Antonio “Bigfoot/Junior” Silva (9-1) has never been out of the first round. Eight of those fights ended in brutal KO/TKO victories, earning Silva a reputation as a lead-fisted brute who’s not to be trifled with, and compelling EliteXC’s Gary Shaw to claim that Silva could hang with any heavyweight in the world. But his last fight was different: At EliteXC: Renegade (11/10/07), Silva actually ended Jonathan Wiezorek’s night via rear-naked-choke — Bigfoot was evolving. Silva faces Celebrity Rehab resident Ricco Rodriguez Saturday night at Street Certified. If it turns out that Silva has more ways to win than just his enormous fists, Ricco will be popping some painkillers after this one. (If Dr. Drew lets him, that is.) Enjoy, and forgive the sound un-synchronization:

Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett — the unhinged lightweight journeyman who is scheduled to fight at EliteXC’s “Street Certified” event on February 16 — was arrested yesterday for domestic assault. His arraignment is scheduled for today, and he has already been replaced on a King of the Cage card that will happen this Thursday; Bennett was booked to fight Victor Valenzuela, who will now be facing Matt Ver Halen. Bennett was supposed to fight Valenzuela at an EliteXC/Strikeforce event in June of last year, but that fight was also canceled after Bennett was arrested on charges of assault and false imprisonment. His status for next month’s “Street Certified” card has not yet been determined.

Bennett has actually been arrested many, many times before on drug and assault charges. But no matter how times cuffs are slapped on the Horse, his happily-go-lucky spirit is never broken. For proof, check out this compilation of all his smilin’ mugshots (skip past the first 0:28), and watch ’til the end for his special message to the kids:

The good news for EliteXC is that they’ve found an opponent for heavyweight rising star Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva on the “Street Certified” card. Silva — who EliteXC live events prez Gary Shaw has claimed “could knock out any heavyweight in the UFC” — will face former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez; both men have previously fought as super-heavyweights. Speaking of drugs, Rodriguez makes his first appearance on VH1′s Celebrity Rehab this Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.

In a press release distributed yesterday, EliteXC announced that it had granted long-term contract extensions to Murilo “Ninja” Rua (who defeated Xavier Foupa-Pokam at Cage Rage last Saturday) and Antonio “Big Foot” Silva, a former super-heavyweight who dropped from 300 pounds to 265 in order to fight (and submit) Jonathan Wiezorek at last month’s “Renegade” event. EliteXC live events prez Gary Shaw seemed particularly confident about Big Foot’s abilities:

“I believe Silva is the No. 1 heavyweight in the world which is why I wanted to make sure he stayed with us. If there is a UFC heavyweight or, for that matter, any heavyweight out there that feels they are the best then lets make a match. We can do the fight in an Octagon, in the EliteXC cage or any venue. I truly believe ‘Big Foot’ will kick any heavyweight’s butt and look forward to giving him the opportunity to do it.’’

Wow…that is rich. I’m not sure who Silva has defeated to be considered “No. 1 heavyweight in the world” — his most notable wins were over Wesley “Cabbage” Correira and Ruben “Warpath” Villareal, both of whom could have been included in Wednesday’s list — but setting aside the utter outlandishness of Gary Shaw’s claim, there’s no reason EliteXC should be looking outside of its ranks for challengers. That’s what you do when all other contenders have been smashed, not when your guy is on a two-fight win streak and Kimbo Slice is sitting on his hands waiting for someone who can remain upright for more than 90 seconds against him. Silva vs. Slice — that’s the announcement that EliteXC should be making now. If Big Foot can win that fight, then maybe he can be mentioned in the same breath as these guys. Until then, he’s just another Silva…